Category Archives: featured

editorial, featured, lifestyle, reading, resources, Sales, travel

GuideGecko: Write Travel Guide Apps

Main_Screen_Screenshot

Today on Freelance-Zone we have a special treat–GuideGecko Founder, Daniel Quadt is here to walk readers through the process of writing a travel guide app. Be sure and check out their site–it’s a great resource.               – Catherine

1. GuideGecko has a new offering for writers—a travel guide app. Can you tell us a little about what that is and how it works? 

Writers can now publish iPhone travel guide apps with GuideGecko, and sell them through Apple’s app store. You simply enter your content using our super-easy website and we’ll do the rest. The apps look really good, and they are tailor-made for travel guides. They even feature offline maps so users do not incur hefty roaming charges when using them abroad. Take a look at http://www.guidegecko.com/publish for some screenshots.

Hotels_Sleeping_Screenshot2. Are there any particular requirements for writers?

You should know your topic and have a very good command of English. It helps if you have written or contributed to travel books or online guides before, but it’s not a requirement.

3. Why did you decide to move in this direction in terms of offering travel writing content?

Apps are an extension of our existing services for writers and publishers. Since our launch in March 2009, we have published over 200 guidebooks by independent authors, as printed books and for download. Apps allow us to create much more interactive, appealing products with advanced features. For example, with the app, you can easily check for nearby restaurants when you are hungry. Or you use the interactive map to plan your itinerary.

Photos4. What other opportunities do you have for writers?

Another exciting service that we launch together with apps is “Web publishing”, which allows writers to become part of our network of destination sites. You can earn a substantial income with destination sites through ads and booking links, and we share this income with our writers.

It’s very easy: You suggest a destination and a topic, e.g. “New York on a Budget” or “Paris with Kids” and publish your content on GuideGecko.com. We promote the individual sub-sites and the network as a whole, leading to synergies that are very difficult and time consuming to achieve for individual authors. Just think of all the Search Engine Optimization you would have to do to bring in visitors! It’s much easier to attract visitors to a large site, and the network effect naturally leads more visitors to the individual sub-sites.

Web publishing is also ideal for writers who know their topic, but don’t want to bother about site structure, HTML+CSS, layout, Adsense, and so on. We manage all that, and writers can concentrate on what they know (and like) best.

Even better: If you want to do Web publishing and iPhone apps together, you have to enter the content only once. We can use the same content for apps and for the web.

5. How can people find out more information about writing for GuideGecko?

Simply go to http://www.guidegecko.com/publish. This page has all the info, and you can apply for web publishing and to make an app.

Business, featured, freelance money, Marketing yourself

Guest Blogger Wanted: Fiction Writing and Editing

Fiction writers wantedFreelance-Zone.com needs a guest blog post or two from an experienced writer and/or editor of fiction. We’ve covered a wide range of topics here, but fiction is one of those areas that doesn’t get the love it deserves, so we’re looking to branch out a bit.

Specifically we’re looking for an experienced fiction writer and/or editor who can write confidently on a variety of a topics related to the business of writing fiction. Wisdom about how to write fiction abounds, so we don’t need to re-invent the wheel. Instead, tell us how you make money doing it and what it takes to get there.

We like our guest bloggers to plug their current projects, link back to their blogs or resume pages, etc. so this is a good opportunity to blow your own horn as well as give sage advice…

If you’re interested, please drop us a line to editor (at) freelance-zone.com and be sure to let us know a bit of background including where you’ve published and what you’re up to now. We look forward to hearing from you!

advice, editorial, featured, Interviews, travel

5 Questions With…Rolf Potts

Today we return to our “5 Questions With…” series, and we have with us a real treat–travel writer Rolf Potts. Read on to get some insights from someone who has been around the globe–and gotten paid to write about it! When you get done checking out the interview, be sure and head over to Rolf’s site where there is more advice for aspiring travel writers.                                 – Catherine

Rolf Potts
Rolf Potts

1. What is your background in writing and how did you become a travel writer?

I got involved in travel writing by trial and error — by getting out and traveling, writing, and keeping at it until I got good at both.  My first break came in 1998, when I was living in Korea and I started selling freelance travel essays to Salon.com.  Eventually they made me a biweekly travel columnist — and this let to other freelance work for venues like Conde Nast Traveler and National Geographic traveler. 

By 2001 I’d gotten my first book contract, and “Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel” was published by Villard/Random House in early 2003.  I’ve since written general journalism and literary criticism, but travel-writing continues to be my main line of work.

2. In your opinion, what are the biggest mistakes writers make when they attempt to craft a travel piece?

They forget to use the techniques of narrative — character, foreshadowing, scene, etc. — and instead just recount their experiences in chronological order.  In the age of blogs, nobody needs a bland, “travelogue” recounting of what happened to you on the road.  You need to tell a story — you need to guide the readers’ experience of your journey, and deliver them insight as well as information — preferably in a lively and engaging manner.

3. Can you share any savvy travel tips with readers? 

Go slow.  Your experience of a place will differ according to the pace of your travels, and you’ll only get superficial impressions if you spend your journey rushing from place to place.  Rather than covering a huge amount of ground in a short amount of time, stick to one place and get to know it well — and get to know some people there.  Your stories will benefit exponentially.

4. What are the components of good travel writing? Continue reading 5 Questions With…Rolf Potts →

advice, editorial, featured, resources

Freelance Advice From Around The Web

globeby Catherine L. Tully

Lately I’ve run across some great pieces on the Web that I’d like to share with you today. These resources range from tax advice for freelancers to cutting-edge writing advice. Here you go!

From Freelance Switch – 6 Apps for Freelancing on an iPad

An older post–but a really solid one, from The Writer’s Technology Companion on How to Write Fast

Write to Done has a good piece on How to Use Vivid Descriptions to Capture Attention

Read the advice on Graphic Design Degree.com regarding Taxes for Freelancers: 20 Deductions You Should Be Taking And How

Have you found a helpful post lately you’d like to share with fellow freelancers? Pop a link into the comments section. It’s good karma.

advice, editorial, featured, gear, Interviews, travel

Interview With…Travel Writer Joshua Berman

Joshua Berman, Travel Writer
Joshua Berman, Travel Writer

Today on Freelance-Zone we have a great interview to share with you. Travel writer Joshua Berman was kind enough to answer some questions about “the life” for us here.   – Catherine

1. What is your background in writing and travel?

I’ve always written and I’ve always traveled. After graduating from college (1995), I took a series of seasonal jobs that paid me to travel: trip leader, Forest Service, firefighter, international volunteer.

My breakthrough came when the Peace Corps assigned me to a beautiful tropical nation where tourism was in the process of being born. There were no guidebooks. So I wrote MOON NICARAGUA with Randy Wood. From there, I was asked to take over MOON BELIZE, then Randy and I wrote the first edition of LIVING ABROAD IN NICARAGUA (all Avalon Travel Publishing). Guidebooks have been my bread and butter ever since, while I’ve been able to spin out a few magazine and newspaper pieces as well.

2. What are the biggest mistakes writers make when they attempt to do a travel piece?

The biggest mistakes are NOT painting a picture or telling a story with some kind of narrative arc, even in relatively short service pieces. The quickest way to turn off a reader is to write a laundry list of the places you went. Travel writing should transport the reader to a new place and challenge them to think about new issues or meet new people, NOT simply explain what happened when the writer was there.

3. Can you share any savvy travel tips with readers?

To make sure you don’t tempt thieves, do not travel with a fancy, expensive-looking backpack with neon straps and a million pockets. Instead, go to your local thrift shop or army-navy store and buy a beat-up, top-loading, used pack—the uglier and more beat-up, the better.

4. In your opinion, what are the components of good travel writing?

Use as many sensory details as possible: smells, sounds, sights, tastes, and textures. Don’t get hung up on listing your itinerary. I don’t care where you went, that’s a background detail. I want to meet new people through your writing and imagine what it feels like to be there, talking to these people and learning their stories.

5. What are the necessities for a travel writer in terms of gear?

Short stack of Moleskine notebooks (or equivalent in sturdiness and size). A lightweight laptop which is either insured or not so expensive that you’ll be upset when it gets ruined by salt-water, rain, sand, ants, or beer. A still camera that shoots video and a digital voice recorder are also essential for the backpack journalist, as is some kind of file storage backup plan (online, mini-hard drive, flash cards).

Joshua Berman is an award-winning guidebook author, specializing in Nicaragua, Belize, and volunteering abroad. His travel articles have appeared in National Geographic Traveler, Budget Travel, The Boston Globe, Yoga Journal, Outside Traveler, 5280, Worldview, and Transitions Abroad. New editions of his two Nicaragua titles are hitting bookstores this September, 2010: MOON NICARAGUA and LIVING ABROAD IN NICARAGUA (both Avalon Travel Publishing). Joshua lives in Colorado with his family, where he is also a part-time Spanish teacher.

Interested in purchasing one of his travel books? Order an autographed copy here.

editorial, featured, lifestyle, photography, resources, travel

“And The Plot Thickens” Weekend Novel Writing Workshop

Today we are excited to bring Freelance-Zone readers an up-close look at “And The Plot Thickens”, a novel writing workshop in Rhode Island taking place later this month…

LobbyA11. How did the idea for the “And The Plot Thickens” workshop come about, and when is it?

‘And The Plot Thickens… How to develop a novel’ is held on August 28 & 29 2010.

The idea came about because we are passionate about the Arts. From the regular RISDA exhibitions we hold in our lobby, our series of arts inspired events and the local arts society we support, it shows in everything we do…We wanted to help people discover their own passion and writing their first novel is a dream that many of us have. We also realized that with people taking shorter weekends because of the economy, they wanted to do something more worthwhile with their time away – this workshop allows them to pursue their dream, share experiences and make new friends while spending the weekend in a wonderful hotel in a beautiful city.

2.  Who will be leading this workshop and what are that person’s qualifications?

Joanna Howard is a published author and holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Denver, and MFA in fiction writing from Bowling Green State University. She currently teaches fiction at Brown University. Joanna is the author of ‘On the Winding Stair’ (Boa Editions, 2009) a collection of short stories which Publisher’s Weekly described as “14 tales of startling description and beauty.”  She is also the author of ‘In the Colorless Round’ (Noemi, 2007), a short collection of prose with artwork by Rikki Ducornet . Her publications also include numerous book reviews in Review of Contemporary Fiction and American Book Review, and she has worked as a co-translator on Marcel Cohen’s Walls (Black Square 2009) and on Frederic Boyer’s Cows (forthcoming from Noemi Press). Her stories appear in anthologies and journals including Conjunctions, The Chicago Review, Quarterly West, and American Letters and Commentary. Howard is a fiction editor for Tarpaulin Sky magazine, She has also edited for Denver Quarterly and other journals.

3. What will be covered in these two days?

Each day will be structured by a series of morning and afternoon sessions, which will include a range of writing exercises, workshops, and seminar style discussions.

Budding writers will learn practical skills for how to shape their ideas into a novel, discover how to create memorable characters and compelling narratives. They will examine their favorite novels and dissect what makes them great pieces of fiction. Reading-out exercises will give them the opportunity for feedback on material they have already written and advice on how to develop and shape their drafts. Joanna will share her experience and advice on how to talk about and present ideas to an audience and how to get that first novel published. Continue reading “And The Plot Thickens” Weekend Novel Writing Workshop →